June 29, 2010

Confessions of a Pop Bottle Top Popper


So you wanna talk about pop, huh? Well you've come to the original soda pop bottle top popper kid himself :P It's practically 1 in the blessed a.m. and I can't sleep yet because our Atomic Ranch Lady got me started, so now I hafta go finish it.

Over here, in the center of the country where we lived in peace and harmony we called it pop, not soda. I try to correct Junior on this constantly because his Mother, who hails from Florida calls it soda, which is just all wrong when you're living here in the peacefully harmonious Midwest, dadgummit (if you'll please pardon my French, merci beau coup).

Now for all you POP aficionados out there who used to drink it straight down from the glass pop bottle (either clear or green-tinted) like I did (which incidentally is much more refreshing than a metallic tasting aluminum can) there's still opportunities for you to reclaim one of the original pleasures of your hopefully misspent youth.

For instance, in my local grocery stores here they sell real bottled pop (besides the "designer soda" or whatever it is that they call it to sell to people more sophisticated than I ever hope to be!). There's several flavors of Frostie available (yum!), and Sioux City Cream Soda, and in the ethnic isle there's the Mex version of Coke and Taqueria... it's very sweet! Another bonus of the Mex pops is that they are sold in the larger 12 oz. size bottle, just like the ones we drank from as kids.

I've got my ever diminishing collection of vintage pop bottles recovered from my Grandma's crawlspace basement. Why they were down there, I don't know. Except I did happen to find a few empty beer bottles of my Grampa's down there too (as well as up in the attic!) so I assume that my Grampa was umm, storing the evidence from Grandma ;D Anyhoos, I used to keep the better pop bottles in the fridge filled w/ appropriately colored water. That is until one night when the fridge got too cold and froze the bottles, which in turn made them busted bottles... Live and Learn *sigh*

Now remember, it's pronounced p-o-p, not s-o-d-a unless you happen to live in a different part of the country. But if youre gonna speak the same American language as I do then you have to use the term "pop" sans the "soda." Pop's also easier and faster to say than "that other multisyllable word" anyway, which means it'll give your mouth increased time to say more profound, thought-provoking stuff, just like I do.

So what was my favorite pop when I was a kid, you ask? My fave pop as a kid was Tru Treat, which was a lot like Squirt w/ some Mt. Dew influence. But I wasn't against experiencing the wonders of all the flavors that our super market had to offer: Dr. Pepper, Apple Beer, 7 Up, Nesbitt's, Shasta, any Root Beer, SunKist, Teem, Bubble Up, never too crazy about RC or Pepsi... But through it all, my family were diehard Coka Cola people... And I collected every pop bottle cap I laid my hands on.... And my Mom, who never really understood why kids see the real true value of such things, simply threw my pop bottle cap horde away!... And to this day I still feel the brutal pangs of a treasured horde's untimely loss.... and... I'm running off with my happy little fingers again, aren't I???

The end :D

ps. Pop bottles are the only proper launching method to use with your pop bottle rockets this Fourth of July... accept no substitutes!

13 comments:

1950s Atomic Ranch House said...

Reclaim your lost collection for cheap by clicking HERE

You're welcome. I hate to see people not having what they used to love. =D

Now git! Go get 'em!

Space Commander said...

I'm still having too much fun griping to go git 'em! =P

Space Commander said...

Holy Mother of Pearl! They're scamming those things for 20 bucks!! =O

Straight Talking Mama! said...

You know that pop is a very British word for soda! Weird that you use it too, it's not really used now but it was when I was a kid and long before me.

I'm always amazed at the different flavours in different countries, of course we also have companies doing traditional pop, we also have cream soda, we've never had root beer or Dr pepper, only recently has Dr pepper made it to our shores! Do you have Dandelion and Burdock? It's YUM but I suspect very British!

1950s Atomic Ranch House said...

Refine the search. You can find those alllll over eBay for cheap lol...

Space Commander said...

We don't have the Dandelion or Burdock here, but I've heard the flavors before, and I love cream soda. Of course there's a bunch that are no longer made wish I'd really love to see come back. Apple was one of the best that I still crave for.

Hooray for the British! They've got it right ;) It's funny because sometimes when I use the term "pop" I'll get the strangest look from people... then I know they're not from around here LoL

I know, Atomic Ranch Lady, but I need to stay away from eBay... there's always the possibility I'll find something to bid on!

RADTRO said...

I only buy local made Sugar based Soda from a very small local soda factory called Avery's Soda and it even comes in glass bottles :)



Check out this guys great Soda Story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPbh6Ru7VVM

Straight Talking Mama! said...

of course we have it right although I have to say it's very outdated here now apart from in certain areas! I might send you a bottle of Dandelion & Burdock for Christmas, so you test out British pop too!

There was a pop made near my Grandma's in Scotland called Murray Cup, I've never seen it anywhere else and I loved it!

Mick said...

In our region it is neither "pop" or "soda" it's "Coke" doesnt matter if you want a dr pepper, a 7 up or crush its a "coke". I started buying dirnks in glass bottles in January for "As Time Goes By" and it was quite funny to see my friends try to work the bottle opener on the side of the Coke Box. One kid finally gave up and just smashed his crush aginst the fench breaking the top off it to get a drink!

1950s Atomic Ranch House said...

I'm sure I have posted this on my blog and maybe here before, but if you want to buy the old fashioned soda flavors in glass bottles, this Mom and Pop place (local to me) sells online. Very nice family multi-generation business. Good folks.

Click HERE

I went to their store some years back and loaded up on a bunch of these for my vintage cooler. =D

Sorry, No Tru Treat, though =( They don't have my Simba either =/

Space Commander said...

Radtro and Miss Atomic Ranch... thanks for the great links about Galco's! I've seen a story about this store and sooo wish there was one close to me... I would be in heaven in such a place!

Mama, I would love very much to try the British pop - maybe I could send you a Root Beer in return?? ;)

Mick, that cracks me up about the kid who couldn't work the bottle opener!

Jan said...

Hi,
Love the site! I'm trying to find the things you put on a glass pop bottle after it was opened to keep the fizz in. We had several different kinds, from one that snapped down on the bottle with a lever and had a rubber gasket, to the free ones you used to get at Tupperware parties. No matter how I looke these up, I get bottle cap collections. What were those things called??
Thanks!

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